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This chapter contains the following sections:
The Cisco Extensible Network Controller (XNC) Virtual Patch Panel (port-to-port forwarding) application allows you to manage port-to-port (P2P) traffic within a switch or across the network without any need for physical connection changes or rewiring. Port-to-port forwarding reduces the time-consuming, manual process of interconnecting two ports, either within a switch or between switches, across the network to forward traffic. With the Cisco XNC port-to-port forwarding application, you can programmatically create a virtual patch panel.
The principal benefits of the Cisco XNC port-to-port forwarding application are as follows:
The config.ini file for Cisco Extensible Network Controller (XNC) is pre-provisioned with some parameters for the P2P feature to work properly on Cisco supported switches. There are two parameters:
p2p.nonConventionalNodes—This parameter should not be modified without first contacting Cisco support.
p2p.nonConventionalNodesEthertypes—This parameter specifies the comma-separated list of frames for which the P2P paths are applicable. The default frame type is IPv4, which means that each P2P path is only applicable for IPv4 packets.
You must log into the Cisco XNC port-to-port forwarding GUI using HTTPS.
The default HTTPS web link for the Cisco XNC port-to-port forwarding GUI is https://Controller_IP:8443/p2p
![]() Note | Before you can use HTTPS, you must manually specify the https:// protocol in your web browser. |
You can add P2P paths and view them in the topology diagram.
You can edit an existing port-to-port forwarding path.
Step 1 | On the Paths tab, click Edit next to the path you want to update. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Step 2 | In the
Edit P2P
Path dialog box, complete the following fields:
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Step 3 | Click Save Path. |
You can delete one or more existing port-to-port forwarding paths.